


Internal Fire

by Elillierose



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bromance, Cave, Fever, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance if you quint, Sickfic, Trapped, ill, sick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-09-14 11:07:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9178840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elillierose/pseuds/Elillierose
Summary: The group take on a job the requires them to go back to Fociaugh Hollow, but upon arrival there is a cave in and the four of them are trapped inside. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that Prompto has fallen ill and failed to tell anyone.





	1. Just Want to Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> This might be a short and slow chapter, and I apologize if it is, but I promise, the next one will be much better. C:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ART:  
> [Image](https://78.media.tumblr.com/f413319171437a3460e5b65aef0e7b2c/tumblr_oo48sulzia1uc3xryo1_540.png) By: [MsChievous](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MsChievous/pseuds/MsChievous)  
> Her [Tumblr](https://stuck-in-ffxv-hell.tumblr.com/)  
> [Image](https://0melodious-nocturne0.deviantart.com/art/Internal-Fire-FanArt-669758001) By: [0melodious-nocturne0](https://0melodious-nocturne0.deviantart.com/)

Ignis glanced over the piece of paper in his once once more, mentally weighing the pros and cons of taking on this request. On one hand, the reward was quite generous; it would have been enough for them to have about a thousand gil a piece. But, on the other hand, it was a bit out of their way. They would have to go to Fociaugh Hollow once again, and after what they had to go through the first time, he wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Apparently there were some valuable gems somewhere in the cave that where desired. He didn't remember seeing anything of the sorts, but he thought he may have just overlooked them.

He looked to his right where Noct and Gladio were talking among themselves, then to his left where Prompto was sitting with his head against the counter. He cleared his throat to get the attention of the three of them. Once their eyes were on him he lied the paper down in front where they all could see it. "What do you guys say? Think it's worth a look into?" He asked, leaning back a little and pushing his glasses up his nose.

Gladio grabbed it off the counter and take a closer look at it, "Weren't we just there a couple days ago? Do you really want to go back there?" He placed it back where it was, "Last time that weird snake thing tried to kidnap Prom. Not sure we want to know what else is lurking in there."

Prompto made a displeased face at the idea, "I personally don't wish to go back anytime soon." He threw in his two cents before putting his head back down.

Noctis looked at the labeled reward, "Three thousand five hundred gil, and a mega phoenix. That doesn't sound like a bad deal for a fetch request."

Ignis thought for a moment, "We'll have to go a little off to do this, but we could use the funds." He looked up at the chef behind the counter, "We'll accept it. Noct is right, it does seem like a more than fair payment for something so simple."

Prompto groaned from his spot, "Guess I have no choice, but if I get dragged off again, I'm dragging you with me." His normally humorous tone came off as a bit stand-offish, not that he meant for it to come out that way. He pushed himself up and went to stand next to the door.

"What's up with him?" Noctis asked quietly, looking over to Gladio for an answer.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me. Been like that since he woke up, when he finally decided to get up anyway." He folded his arms across his chest and switched his gaze to Ignis, "We headin' out now, or later?"

Ignis got up from his seat, "Best to leave now while there is still light out. We'll camp at a haven for the night, then continue in the morning." He made his way out the door, and Prompto followed after him, not saying a word and took his usual spot in the passenger seat. He sank into the comfort of the Regalia and leaned his head against the door. Meanwhile everyone else got into their respective places and Ignis pulled out onto the road to make their way towards their new destination.

Ignis had the music playing softly in an attempt to alleviate some of the awkward silence that settled around them. Gladio was reading in the back next to a sleeping prince, while Prompto was up front staring out absentmindedly. He wasn't even bothering to take pictures. Ignis noticed this peculiar behavior, "Is everything alright? You seem to be a bit...off."

Prompto jumped a little as the sudden question caught him off guard. He glanced over real quick, then turned back to looking at the landscape. Unsure of how to answer, he gave a vague one, "Y-yeah." He took a deep breath, "Just tired, been a long week, ya'know?" He closed his eyes to better savor the wind blowing through his hair and against his face. "Feels like we've been going non-stop. I'm not complaining," He defended quickly. "Just not used to it is all."

Ignis looked a bit skeptical, but accepted that as a reasonable argument. "If that's the case, why not follow Noct's example at take a nap until we arrive. No need for you to force yourself to stay awake for the car ride after all." He gave him a small smile, assuring him that it was fine.

Prompto nodded, "I guess I can do that." He leaned into the door more, trying to get more comfortable, finding it unusually difficult to do so despite the exhaustion he felt. Finally finding a somewhat tolerable position he was able to let sleep take him into its loving arms.

As he was drifting off Ignis turned down the music just a tad and checked the rear view mirror to get a look at the others. Noctis was still sleeping, not once changing positions and Gladio still had his nose in that book of his, probably even missed the previous short conversation. The rest of the ride was carried on in silence.

He pulled over once they were within walking distance of the haven. Gladio jabbed Noctis in the side to wake him up while Ignis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder. Noctis woke up immediately at the intrusive gesture, swatting his hand away annoyed. "Knock it off, I'm awake." He said as he wiped a small amount of drool from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm sure you were." Gladio said with amusement as he got out of his side.

Prompto, on the other hand, didn't wake up quite so willingly. He stirred a little, but that was it before stilling again just as quickly. Ignis tried again, but rougher. This time he managed to get more of a reaction. He peeled his face off the door and slowly turned towards the man the pulled him out of his peace. "Hmm?" He asked, obviously still groggy. "Are we there already?"

Ignis got out of his side and shut the door, "Yes, we are there. Help Gladio carry the camping supplies if you don't mind." He took a few things himself to help ease the load for the larger man.

Prompto sluggishly stumbled out of the car, finding his legs to be slightly numb from the strange position he had been sleeping. Making his way to the trunk he pulled out a couple chairs and tucked them under his arms. Being in his half-asleep state he dropped both of them the moment he took a step, and they clattered to the ground noisily, pulling Gladio's attention his way.

"You got it?" He asked, noticing how e wasn't reacting very quickly to his clumsiness.

Prompto looked down at the chairs and slowly realized what happened, "Oh, my bad." He tried to quickly retrieve them, hoping none of the others would make a big deal about it, or ask any more questions, he honestly didn't feel like putting on a fake face and pretending like he wasn't about to fall asleep on the spot. He was relieved when everyone went about what they were doing and paid him no mind.

They weren't walking for long before they arrived at the site and Gladio made quick work of setting things up while Ignis began to prepare their meal for the night. Something quick and simple, like a soup. While they did that the other two got the fire started, it took them a moment, far longer than it would have taken Gladio, but they got it started eventually.

The moment everything was set up and ready Prompto headed towards the tent, ready to be out for the night. Ignis called out to him before he could crawl in and curl up though, "I'm almost done cooking if you think you ca wait a few minutes to eat before heading to bed."

He waved his hand in a dismissive way. "No, thank you. Think I'll skip out on tonight; I'm not really hungry."

Now it was Noctis' turn to say something. "What's going on with you? You were moody all day when you weren't sleeping, and now you're not eating."

He looked to the ground, using his same excuse from earlier. "Look, I'm just tired, ok? I just want to go to sleep." I saw the concerned look on their faces and knew that answer wouldn't be good enough this time. He appreciated them caring, but he didn't want them worrying over nothing, especially if it made him look weak to them. "I'm fine really. I promise I'll eat in the morning." He turned back and climbed into the tent, not giving anyone a chance to say anything.

The others made no move to stop him this time, and just decided to let it go as it was and take his word for it. Ignis finished his cooking and handed the other two a bowl, setting one aside in case the blonde changed his mind. They ate in silence, making small talk here and there, but nothing too important, more to fill the silence than anything. Once done, Noctis helped clean up before heading to bed himself, the other two decided to stay up for a little longer.

Upon climbing into the tent, he found Prompto curled up on his side, seemingly dead to the world, he hadn't even taken the time to cover up before knocking out. Because of this, Noctis had to struggle to pull the sheets out from under him without waking him, but he was soon aware that it didn't matter how rough he was, for he didn't so much as twitch with all the tugging. This did cause some concern for him, but he brushed it off, still wanting to believe his friend when he told them he was just exhausted.

With the sheet now free, he draped it over the gunner as well as himself and turned over to his side, facing away from the other. The gentle breeze ruffling the tent mixed with the steady breathing of the man behind him helped to quickly lull him to sleep as he just missed the few light coughs that sounded behind him.


	2. Cornered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the new day comes new issues as things go from bad to worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope this is better than the first. And don't worry, the real fluff is coming soon. ^-^

A dull pain echoed through his head, accentuated by the pounding he heard in his ears. Not to mention this annoying burning that was persistently itching in the back of his throat. He tried to clear it, only for it to come back worse than before. Forcing his eyes open he became aware of the new light piercing through the tent, and even though he slept through the night, he still felt heavy and drained. Pushing himself up onto one arm, he scanned the tent, seeing everyone else asleep aside from Ignis. That's when the smell hit him. The smell of food cooking, which should have been a pleasant scent, but it did nothing aside from make him feel revolted.

He forced himself up, determined to make himself at least appear more enthusiastic than he did the day before. Even if that would take energy he felt he didn't have. Upon pulling the material back, he was blinded by the light that bombarded his sensitive eyes. Using his other hand the shield the sun he stepped out and saw Ignis busy with his cooking a few feet away.

"Uh, morning, Iggy." He croaked out, cringing at the sound. He cleared his voice again, "Ignore that, not fully awake yet." He quickly defended.

Ignis let it slide, "You're up rather early for you, aren't you? Awake before Gladio for once, now that is not a common sight." He smirked to himself, though he couldn't help a foreboding feeling he had deep down. "Would you mind waking the others, I'm almost done with breakfast.

"Yeah, sure." He said way more upbeat than he felt. He turned back around, a little too quickly. As he was greeted with slight light-headed sensation he reached out and grabbed the tent, looking for something to better ground himself. He just hoped that Ignis hadn't noticed anything; he assumed not or else he most likely would have said something. He poked his head through and called out to them, noticing how talking only served to irritate his throat further.

Gladio woke up easily as usual, and again, like usual, Noctis would take a little more persuasion. Lucky for Prompto, the big guy took it upon himself to do so. He nudged him with his foot until the prince showed some signs of life, grumbling and trying to turn away from the disturbance. Of course the assault only continued until he opened his eyes and put some actual effort into getting up. "Get yer lazy ass up." He stated, with one more addition grind of his toe in Noctis' side.

He reluctantly pushed the sheet off and exited the tent followed closely by Gladio. Prompto stepped back to allow the two fo them passed. The three of them each grabbed a plate that Ignis handed them. Gladio and Noctis both began to eat their share, but Prompto stared down at his rice balls, really regretting his promise the night before now. He picked one up and just held it for a for seconds before raising it and taking a small bite.

He instantly wanted to spit it out, but fought against it and swallowed it, going against what he felt was right. Not only did it serve in making him feel more disgusted, but it agitated his throat as well. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he knew that that small amount wouldn't be enough to satisfy the others and get them off his back. 

Each bite was worse than the last, and he hadn't even finished the one when he finally decided that was enough. He placed the remainder of the one rice ball back on his plate and set it aside, getting up to get a bottle of water. Water sounded way more appealing to him. Ignis looked on from where he sat, choosing not to comment on his disapproval, but it was better than nothing.

Prompto grabbed a bottle and took generous sips, hoping it would do something to sooth the soreness of his throat. The relief only lasted for a moment before it came back full force. The others had all finished their food by this point and had started cleaning up a little. He was quick to join and help in the tidying up, making sure he wasn't just standing uselessly by while they did all the work. Most of the stuff they left up, knowing they would probably be making a stop here again on the way back.

By the time they were ready to go, Prompto was already slightly out of breath, and the pounding behind his eyes had almost doubled from all the extra movement he was doing. Regardless, he still showed no signs of discomfort and feigned perkiness and optimism as much as he was able. He walked with a spring in his step and spoke as if he didn't have a care in the world, and for the most part the others were almost fooled. Would have been completely, if it weren't for his behavior the night before, and obvious lack of appetite.

"So, Iggy, where exactly in this place are the gems?" Prompto asked, stepping faster to walk next to the man.

Ignis pushed his glasses up, "I can't say for certainty, but if I had to make a guess, I would say they would have to be pretty deep in considering the price they are paying for this."

"This better not be more trouble than it's worth." Gladio added in from behind. "We've had enough unfair deals with these things as it is, really don't want to add another to that growing list."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Noctis assured, "We just have to grab a few rocks and get out."

"Or you hope so anyway." Prompto replied, "I mean, are you aware of our luck, I wouldn't exactly call it good, not even normal for that matter." He went to brush a stray hair out of his face, definitely not liking how heavy his limbs still felt, but he ignored it. "I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being in a completely different cave to be honest."

Gladio have a small chuckle, "That would be our luck alright."

Prompto gazed up at the sun, was it just him, or was it brighter and hotter than usual? The heat did feel a lot more intense than it normally did, and he could feel sweat begin to to form on his brow a bit. He swiped a hand across it and was not too fond of the small amount of heat coming off of him. Trying to convince himself it was just from the sun and nothing else, he went back to covering his face with his hand to block as much as he could.

"How much longer until we get there?" He asked desperate to get into the shade of the cave.

"Patience, Prompto. We've only been walking for a few minutes, and it takes at least a few minutes to arrive there from the nearest haven." Ignis shot a glance over to him and noticed the slight sheen he had going on. "Though, the faster we move the faster we'll get there."

This was enough motivation to make the blonde pick up his pace, in turn making the others speed up to match it. His sudden burst of enthusiasm was a nice change to the three of them, but they were oblivious to the truth. This increased speed was taking more out of him than he cared to admit.

Within no time they were at the entrance of the cave, standing just outside staring in. Prompto was doing what he could to make sure his breathing stayed steady, refusing to give in to his burning longs and quickly beating heart. "Well, here we are." He shifted his weight uncomfortably, "So, um...who first?"

Gladio strode past him, taking up the front, flipped on his light and stepped inside, "In a hurry to get here, but hesitant to actually go inside." The others followed immediately after and the blocking of the sun was instant relief for Prompto. 

Once they were all fully inside there attention was drawn to the sound of something sliding against rock behind them where the entrance was. It sounded like slithering, kind of like a...snake. Turning to face the guest, Noctis was glad to see that it wasn't the Naga from before, but he wasn't exactly happy to see that it was another creature of equal size and shape. "You've got to be kidding me."

Prompto was staring at it in shock, "What did I tell ya man? That's our luck I was talking about." He took a couple of steps back, calling his gun as he did so, ready to defend himself if need be. "Where did that thing even come from?" The others did the same in summoning their respective weapons, spreading out from one another so as not to bunch up and cause more issues for themselves.

They stood where they were, waiting for the creature to make the first move, and that it did. It whipped its tail horizontally, causing all of them to duck underneath to avoid being hit. Its appendage crashed hard into the stone wall, shaking the place and knocking a few rocks loose that crumbled to the ground. 

Noctis retaliated by warping to the top of its head and slashing down. It wasn't quite enough to kill it, but it was enough to anger it and make it thrash about in pain. Ignis looked up as he felt small pebble sprinkle down, and seeing the possible danger in the situation he called out to Noctis, "Noct! Get down, we need to get away from here." Without questioning the man, he did as he was told, and with only one option they had to go further into the cave. With the giant snake still writhing about it wasn't long before larger rocks began to rain down.

"Look out!" Gladio yelled, pulling Prompto aside as a larger stone landed where he just was. With Prompto's face now close to his chest he was vaguely aware of the slight heat coming off of him, but this wasn't the time to question him about it. Though, there was no way he would listen to any of his excuses this time.

"Thanks, Gladdy." He pushed away from him, hating that he even had to help him in the first place; he should have easily been able to move out of the way himself.

Gladio nodded, "Don't mention it, kid." They continued going deeper as the rocks carried on to cascade down, filling the area with dust. Without much choice, the four of them had to huddle together in the safest place they could find until the place settled and the dust stilled. Gladio took the far outside, grunting as a piece of the ceiling struck his shoulder.

They were all coughing harshly at this point, Prompto more so than the others as the dust made the burning in his throat ten times worse than it was. After it all seemed to be over, they pulled away to assess the damage done. The blonde stayed where he was though, still struggling to breath properly through the burning of his throat and lungs, and now the coughs that still racked his body.

Noctis' face fell when he took a look at the opening of the cave, "Son of a bitch." He mumbled to himself, staring at nothing but a wall of debris in place of where their exit should be. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

While he did that, Gladio was by Prompto's side, patting him on the back. Once the coughs subsided he straightened himself out, stumbling as he did so. The other grabbed him tightly by the arm to keep him from toppling over. "Prompto."

The younger looked up at him through the hair that had fallen into his face during the ordeal, but said nothing.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us?" He asked loud enough for the others to hear. Noctis turned around at the clear anger in his voice, there was a touch of concern in there though.

"Tell you what?" He asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb, you know very well what." He responded and placed a hand against his forehead, ignoring the other's protests. "Why didn't you tell us you were sick?"

Prompto looked down, feeling slightly guilty for trying to hide it. "I didn't say anything, because it wasn't a big deal. I told you I'm fine, and I-"

"Bullshit you're fine." He paused to calm down before continuing, "Look, you aren't the best when it comes to acting, so when you aren't feeling your best, it's pretty easy for the rest of us to pick up on it. So stop trying to hide things like this from us. We won't think any less of you if you aren't feeling well, you understand?"

Prompto looked up, "Y-yeah, I understand." Gladio released his arm once he was sure he was steady enough. The blonde immediately placed a hand on the wall as a wave of nausea washed over him. "Why now?" He whispered out as he gagged and slowly crouched down. Placing his other hand on the ground he submitted to the feeling and allowed his body to repel the contents of his stomach. Most of what came up was water though, seeing as he hadn't consumed much else.

Gladio had a hand on his back once again and sighed out of worry. He shot a look over to Ignis, who would be much better in this situation than he would. Seeing the need for help in his face, Ignis stepped over ad took Gladio's place in supporting the younger man. When his body was done heaving, Ignis helped him back up and allowed him time to recover before asking questions. "Prompto, this is very important, but do you have any other symptoms other than vomiting and fever?"

Prompto took a few deep breaths, "J-just a headache. And maybe some occasional dizziness, but that's it. Nothing too serious." Ignis placed a hand against his face for himself to feel how bad it was. At the moment it wasn't enough to be too concerning, but it still wasn't good.

"We should find a place to rest for a short while until we come up with what to do from here." He said, gazing around at the others, then back at Prompto. "Are you well enough to be walking around right now?"

"Yeah, I can manage that." He stepped away to stand away from the others, embarrassed that he had let the others see him in such a weak state. Noctis kept an eye on him as he stepped away, ready to help if the need should arise.


	3. Offered Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to get a little worse for our blonde little nugget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, finally some Gladio/Prompto fluff everyone loves. ;3 Let me know if you want more of this, and I'm sure I can add some more in here and there.

The further in the went, the more the temperature dropped until it finally dipped enough for it to be considerably cold. Noctis had pulled his jacket further around himself while Ignis and Gladio showed no signs of being affected by the chill. Prompto had his arms wrapped around himself, really wishing he wore clothes with sleeves now. He shivered and hugged himself tighter, stopping when there was some added extra weight over his shoulders. Gazing over he saw a black material had been placed around him, looking a little higher he was faced with a now completely shirtless Gladio.

He pulled it further on, "Thanks." He said looking back forward, "Are you sure you don't need it?"

"I'll be fine, you need it more than I do. Besides, I'm hot natured, I can handle the cold a lot better than you can."

"Right." He slipped his arms through the sleeves and until then he never noticed how large the man was until his clothing was hanging off him like a child wearing their parent's apparel. He rolled the sleeves up a little so he could at least have the use of his hands back. "Hope we don't come across anything, don't think I'll be moving around very well in this blanket of a jacket." 

Gladio slapped him on the shoulder, "If we do come across anything, I would expect you to stand back anyway." His voice held a hint of authority with that statement as he folded his arms across his chest.

Prompto picked his walking back up, "You know I have a gun, right? I can still shoot from a distance."

"And you know I could easily take that pea shooter away, right?" Gladio retorted with clear humor, now walking beside the other. "Seriously though, don't do anything stupid."

The blonde laughed softly. "It's me, I won't take any unnecessary ris-" He abruptly doubled over as he went into another coughing fit. Gladio reached out for the younger out of instinct, but Prompto put up a hand to stop him. "I'm...fine." He wheezed out between coughs. Ignis and Noctis had stopped when they heard the outburst, turning around and watching on in case anything else should come up.

He was breathing heavily by the time they had subsided as a new sheen of sweat now coated his forehead. He swayed slightly on his feet and didn't stop Gladio from putting a steadying hand on his arm this time. "You ok?" He asked quietly Prompto slowly nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment and causing another episode.

"We can stop for a few moments if you need a short break." Ignis offered. "Pushing yourself is the last thing you need right now."

Prompto weakly shook his head no. "I can go farther." He took a shaky and deep breath before straightening back up. "Let's go." He walked forward, causing Gladio to release his hold on him.

He only watched as the younger pulled away, and he didn't miss the way he stumbled a bit before he was able to steady himself and carry on. He decided to let him retain some of his pride and restrained from commenting on it. He shared a worried glance with Ignis before the quickly broke the eye contact and went on as well. Noctis' eyes never left the blonde though, he didn't notice the mutual feelings shared between the oldest two. 

They walked for a while longer in tense silence; the only sound being their footsteps and Prompto's hard breaths. He was getting more worn out by the minute, but he still refused to say or do anything about it. The others were aware, but they also stayed quiet on the matter, knowing that it wouldn't matter what they said. 

Ignis decided to take action in a more discreet way. He held up his hand, signaling for the others to stop. "I believe this spot will suffice well enough for a rest. We'll gather ourselves and figure out where to go from here, but I think we all could use a rest."

Noctis and Prompto both gladly took a seat, Noctis sat in the open while the other took a spot against the wall of the cave. As cold as he was, the coolness of the rock still somehow felt nice. Gladio sat next to him, wanting to be close should the blonde need his help for anything.

It didn't take long after that for Prompto to begin to feel tired again and he was struggling to keep his eyes open. He was faintly aware of himself tilting sideways, but relaxed again when he felt himself leaning against something rather warm. It was weird. Somehow the warmth also felt nice. He let his eyes slide close for a moment.

Gladio said nothing as the younger slowly drifted over to lean against him. He gazed down, smiling to himself seeing the he was already asleep, even though it was concerning knowing that he could fall asleep so quickly like that. He re-positioned Prompto's head so it looked as though it was at a more comfortable angle, taking a mental note at how he didn't even stir with the motion. When his hands made contact though, he could feel the heat radiating off. He felt a lot warmer than he did earlier.

He then brushed a few stray hairs that had fallen into his face, not at all liking how pale the kid looked to him. Paler than usual anyway, which didn't seem possible. "Iggy." He called quietly, trying not to wake Prompto up. He looked back down and pulled his jacket tighter around him seeing as it slid down his shoulder a little.

Ignis had been standing a few feet away, facing the other direction thinking to himself. He looked over his shoulder, and seeing the position they were in he was able to guess what Gladio needed. "How is he holding up?" He asked in an equally quiet tone.

Gladio put his attention back on the man lying against him, "Not good as far as I can tell." He placed the back of his hand on Prompto's cheek to get a better feel of how hot he was. "If he didn't have a fever before he does now, that's for sure."

"What are we supposed to do about this?" Noctis asked. 

"He needs medicine." Ignis flatly stated, going to crouch down next to Gladio and Prompto. He glanced over the younger of the two, "But stuck in here there isn't much we can do other than let him rest as much as we can." He gave a sympathetic look before standing back up. "Do either of you happen to have any water on you? With vomiting being a symptom he'll get dehydrated easily, not to mention a fever on top of that."

"Yeah, I have a bottle in my pocket." Noctis reached in and retrieved it, handing it over to Ignis. 

The latter nodded his thanks and then handed it to Gladio. "Here, when he wakes up, try to get him to drink at least a little bit of it." Gladio took the offered water and sat it next to him, within reach for when it was needed.

"What have you gotten yourself into?" Gladio asked, not expecting an answer as he wrapped and arm around the blonde, trying to provide as much warmth as he could. In response Prompto coughed lightly a few times and subconsciously curled up on his side. He sighed in his sleep before stilling once again. He switched his focus to something else. "How do you suppose we get out of this mess?"

"We'll have to fins another way out. Like most other caves, this one is bound to have more than one entrance. We'll just have to find it." He finally took a seat next to Noctis, seeing as they most likely wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. "We should rest up while we're here at least. We'll continue our search when Prompto's awake." He leaned against the wall on the other side of Gladio and closed his eyes, staying completely alert.

Noctis did the same, only lying flat on the cave floor, still in the open. Gladio on the other hand stayed how he was, not wanting to miss anything should anything change. They stayed like this for what felt like a couple of hours. A couple of hours of no moving. Getting a little worried about this he felt Prompto's face again and was somewhat relieved to feel that it was about the same.

He paused when the other moved his head, moving it lean into his touch, and gave a soft moan as his face scrunched up into a grimace of discomfort. His right hand instantly went to his head, trying ease the pain the pulsed throughout it. 

"Morning, sunshine." Gladio greeted and removed his arm from around Prompto.

He only groaned in response, as he tried to push himself up. When Gladio tried to stop him he shoved his hand away and mumbled quietly, "I'm gonna be-" He didn't finish as he covered his mouth with one hand and crawled a few feet away. He stayed on his hands and knees until his body tensed up and then did nothing but dry heave since there was nothing else to come back up anymore.

Prompto was left shaking and heavily breathing by the time anyone could react. Noctis was now sitting up, and both Gladio and Ignis were on their feet rushing over. Gladio had his arm back around him in support, making sure he didn't fall over, and Ignis stayed back, not wanting to crowd him. 

The gunman allowed the larger of them to take most of his weight as he propped himself against him. "Th-this sucks." He tried to break the tension. He closed his eyes as a shiver ran through him. This beckoned for Gladio to adjust his jacket around him and pull him in closer.

"I don't suppose you're up for trying to drink some water, huh?" He asked, already knowing what the answer would be. Prompto visible cringed at the thought of it.

He shook his head, "N-not right n-now." He stuttered out, body still shaking from both exertion and cold.

"Not even a few sips?" Gladio asked out of desperation, knowing how important even a little bit of water could be. At this Prompto seemed to think about it.

He finally nodded slowly and went to sit up, not complaining when Gladio stepped in to help, propping him back up against the wall. He then grabbed the water bottle and gave the other a moment to collect himself before unscrewing the cap and holding it out for him. "You got it?"

Prompto took the bottle from his hand. "I'm pretty sure I can handle...something like this." He held it in his hands, staring at, debating whether or not this was a good idea. 

Ignis stepped in and gave him a little reassurance. "Look at it this way, even if it doesn't stay down, isn't throwing up water better than dry heaving?"

"He does have a point." Noctis backed him up.

Prompto took a deep breath and sighed, "I guess. But um, shouldn't you guys have a drink first?" He asked, trying to hand it back. "If you drink after me, wouldn't you risk getting sick too?"

Gladio pushed it back towards him, "Just drink already, unlike you, we're not losing it very quickly."

He gave in, not feeling like arguing, and went to take a small sip. It wasn't enough to count for much of anything. He then gave that a moment before taking another larger one. The cool feeling was enough to make him feel a little better for the time being, but he knew that feeling probably wouldn't last too long. Not wanting to push his luck, he handed the water back, despite the dryness in his mouth and throat being almost unbearable.

Ignis didn't look satisfied with that amount, but like he said, a little was still better than nothing, not much better, but better nonetheless. Gladio took the bottle and screwed the cap back on, setting it aside again. "We've decided we would continue on whenever you are feeling up to it. If you aren't then don't force yourself and make yourself worse. If we have to, someone can stay here with you while the others go ahead and search."

At this Prompto used the wall as support as he got to his feet, "I'm ready when you guys are." Even though he said that, his posture and complexion told a different story. His legs were trembling a small amount and looked like they could barely hold him up.

Instead of forcing him to lie back down, Gladio offered him his arm, which Prompto thankfully took, admitting to all of them as well as himself finally that something was wrong. None of them were too fond of that admission, knowing it had to be bad if he was willing to show weakness now.


	4. Open Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio decides to take charge a bit in this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added in a couple more fluff moments in this, but they are making progress on getting out at least. C:

Over time the hold on Gladio's arm became lighter and lighter until the hands that gripped it were hardly noticeable. That's when he became conscious of how much their overall pace had slowed and he listened to the shuffling of feet next to him, practically dragging along. Placing an arm around Prompto's waist, hoping to provide some additional support, wanted or not, and felt a shiver run through the other's body. He was obviously drained as it was, yet he still pushed on without complaint. Gladio both hated and admired that willpower, but this wasn't the place to show it.

He tightened his arm around him when another stumble almost ended with him falling to the ground, "Whoa there." Gladio said, hefting him back up, "Are you alright?"

Prompto was leaning into his arm now, struggling to keep his breathing under control, "Uh huh." He swallowed hard and grabbed Gladio's arm to right himself and get his bearings. "Don't worry about me."

"Don't overdo it Prompto." Ignis called from ahead. Making your condition worse in a predicament such as this would not be wise."

"I told you already," Prompto released his hold on Gladio, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He took another step and faltered immediately, luckily there was someone there to catch him again. He blushed in embarrassment, staring down at the ground. "I-I'm not fine. I'm not, am I?" He mumbled mostly to himself. Whatever he said after that was too low for Gladio to make out the words.

Gladio leaned in closer, "What was that? Didn't quite catch it."

Prompto quickly looked back up, looking slightly confused, "Wha?" He leaned farther into Gladio, not realizing that he was wavering on the spot. "Did I say something?" He glanced around and saw three pairs of eyes on him, staring and filled with worry.   
Gladio's hand was on his forehead at once, "Tch, dammit, you're burning up."

Prompto gazed at him through glazed eyes, "It's not that bad." He forced out as another shudder ran through him. Gladio crouched down and went to lift his ailing friend, only to have him uselessly try to push away. "Wh-what are you doing, Gladdy?"

Gladio didn't give in, and scooped him up with ease, "What does it look like?"

"Stop, put me down." He tried to push away once again, but the other man's hold was too strong and wouldn't so much as budge. "Come on, I'll just get you sick too." His voice took on an almost begging sound.

He ignore his struggles of freedom and stood back up, "Do you really think I care? I'm not going to push you away becasue of a few germs."

"Besides, with us being within such close quarters, not to mention sleeping so close to one another, we would all have it right now if it were contagious." Ignis said, more to calm the blonde than anything, "You are worrying for nothing, none of us have shown any symptoms, so we're safe from it." 

Prompto seemed to relax a bit at hearing that, "A-Are you sure?" He closed his eyes halfway and layed his head against the means shoulder, his vision blurring a small amount. He felt his world spinning ever so slowly as he reached out to grab something. "Gladdy?" He whispered as his hand finally made contact with something. "I feel." He dragged in a laboring breath as his head pounded in his ears. "I feel...kinda." He couldn't hear his own voice over the thumping and the ringing.

"Prompto?" It was Ignis' voice that responded. He had one hand on his forehead now, and the other cupping his cheek, making him look at up. "Can you hear me? I need to you let me know if you can" 

Things were going in and out of focus, and he was only catching words here and there, but not enough for his hazy mind to piece together to form a cognitive response.

"What's happening to him, what the hell's going on?" Noctis asked walking over, feeling panic gripping at his heart. 

Ignis turned his head to look at him thoughtfully, "His fever has risen drastically, he can't think straight." He retracted his hands and reached under the jack the untie the bandanna from Prompto's arm. "Noct, can you hand me the water?" Noctis did as he was asked and handed it over, no questions asked. Pouring enough over the material to dampen it, he placed it over Prompto's forehead. "Don't worry, it's not high enough to be life threatening, but it's still getting worse."

"And what are we supposed to do when it does become life threatening?" Gladio asked cynically. Looking down at the blondes eyes he could see the delirium plainly. He didn't know a thing that was going on around him, yet he was still staring off above him. His eyes drifted to look at the larger man now.

"Wh-what's happening?" Prompto asked, seemingly staring straight through Gladio, almost as if he couldn't see him. "It's so...so hot." A few weak coughs tore out of his throat as he tried to curl up in Gladio's arms, finding it rather difficult with the angle he was at. Colors danced before his vision as his body was jostled from the action.

"Easy there, buddy." Gladio spoke softly. His coughs eased away and he carefully began to calm down again, letting his eyes completely close this time and his breathing evened out. But the uncomfortable expression on his face told he wasn't resting easy. "We should keep going." He said as he pulled Prompto in closer and stepped past Ignis. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

Ignis handed the water back to Noctis and joined Gladio's side. Noctis stood where he was for a moment, everything repeating in his mind as different scenarios played out before him. "Are you coming, Noct?" Ignis asked, snapping him out of his stupor.

"Y-yeah, I'm coming." He tucked the water back in his pocket and gazed in the direction they came from for a few more moments before turning and following the others.

 

As the three of them turned a corner, Ignis held up a hand to stop them, and kept it up signaling for the to remain silent. He stood there, tilting his head, listening to something the others didn't know of. "Do you hear that?" He asked, leaning towards the sound more. 

"Hear what?" Noctis asked, "I think you're the only one that can."

Ignis turned to face them, hope now evident in his eyes. "It sounds to me like running water, and where there's running water there has to be a source." He began forward again, "If we fin it all we have to do is follow it upstream, and our chance of getting out of here are pretty high."

"Lead the way, specs." Noctis replied, gesturing with his hand fro him to pick up the pace.

Gladio still had the blonde held close to him, his breath coming out in heated puffs against his neck, and he could feel drops of sweat dripping off Prompto and onto his chest. "We'll get you out of here soon enough." He whispered down to the young man in his arms. He may not have been able to hear him at the moment, but it still gave hims some comfort saying it.

"How is he holding up?" Ignis asked, trying to start conversation.

Gladio looked down and sighed, "Hard to tell, he's out like a light. Hasn't so much as twitched since he knocked out." He was so pale now, which contrasted greatly with the dark shadows that encased his eyes. To put it lightly, he looked like shit. "I'm not used to him being this quiet, that's for certain."

Noctis gave a small laugh, "Yeah, it's kind of peaceful for once." His amusement quickly did a one-eighty straight into apprehension when he thought about it. "About how far do you suppose this water is anyway?"

"With the twists and turns that are so common amidst these places, it's hard to say really. It's even possible that we are completely cut off from that part of the cave."

"We'll find it." Gladio spoke up with determination. "Either we'll find a path to it, or I'll make one." By now he was letting his fears chase away his logical thinking. He was very aware of this, he just didn't seem to really care so much anymore.

"I doubt that will be necessary." Ignis replied, understanding where the other man was coming from. "More than likely there will be at least a small passage somewhere we can cross through." He stopped when he came across a dead end, and signed in frustration. "Looks like we'll have a back track a little first." 

Noctis looked around the area, freezing when his eyes landed on Prompto again. "We've been going for a while now, think we should rest for the night?" He watched his chest rise and fall with each breath, thankful that it was steady for now at least.

Ignis saw what he was getting at and reluctantly agreed. "It might be a good idea. Gladio, you can lay him down now."

Gladio ignored his words and left Ptompto where he was. "I think we should keep going. We've been here long enough as it is."

Ignis went ahead and took a seat on the ground, "And we will, but it will none of us any good if we wear ourselves out. Not to mention Prompto needs proper rest, which he won't get by being carried around and jostled." He took a deep breath. "I know exactly how you feel, but I believe this to be our best course of action."

Gladio took a second to ponder, "I'll take your word for it, but I still don't like it." Even though he gave in, he still didn't place Prompto down and instead sat with him in his lap and his head leaning against him. He caught the look the other two were giving him. "It's better them him sleeping on the cold rocks, I'm sure you guys can agree with that."

"I'm not saying anything." Ignis said, lying down on his side and close his eyes to try and get some sleep. Noctis said nothing as he did the same next to Gladio. Knowing that they were in a relatively safe area, he was able to eventually drift off himself.


	5. Dry heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, they make some progress, but unfortunately things get a little rough and they have to split up for short time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to get this out sooner, but my computer kinda crashed and I lost some of the progress and had to re-write a bit. Luckily the word count site I use for spell checking saved most of it. But for some reason the crash caused my writing program to replace all the text with space. >_> But I got it done. lol
> 
> Also, don't be afraid to point out mistakes, I seem to miss a lot.

He felt heat all over. It was as though he were on fire, yet he was shivering. It was an odd and bewildering sensation, one that he didn't know what to make of. The dull pounding in his head only served to strengthen his confusion. Everything seemed disjointed and unreal, almost as if he were floating. It wasn't a feeling he was very fond of at all. Then he realized his eyes were closed and decided that maybe if he opened them, this bizarre state would fade away.

He gave it a try and found his eye lids not wanting to cooperate. Frustration quickly filled him at finding that everything was difficult to move. He thought he was lifting his arm, but he wasn't completely sure. Eventually he gave up and tried to speak instead. He could tell something was coming out at least, though it was painful against his throat. The moment he had managed to get sound out he felt himself being shifted and vaguely heard voices. No idea what they were saying, or who it belonged to, but it sounded obnoxiously loud in his sensitive mind.

Soon the voice got painfully louder, and he wanted nothing more then to tell it to stop, but the only thing he could get out was a mumbled whine, no actual words. At that another voice joined in, this one was softer and not as hard on the ears as the first.  
What felt like ages passed before something wet and cold now blocked his airway. He wanted to spit it out, but his inability to move prevented that. Before he could try to do anything else about it, his body seemed to take over and he was able to swallow whatever it was with ease.  
_______

Gladio was dragged out of his slumber when quiet murmurs were coming from the blonde in his arms, that along with the vain squirms that ended up being futile. He gently lifted Prompto's head and spoke lowly to him, "Hey, you there?" He asked and go no response which elicited him to give it another shot, "Prompto? Are you awake?" 

He sluggishly mumbled something else, but it was a jumbled mess of an attempted sentence. "Iggy? A little help over here." He called over as he used his free hand to remove the now dry cloth from Prompto's head.

Ignis was there in a moment's notice, "Is he lucid?"

"I don't think so." He then cupped his face in his hand, "He sure is trying though." Placing his hand on his forehead again, he found him to be quite a bit warmer than he was, but the part that alarmed him more was that he wasn't sweating much. Not enough to make up for the heat emanating off of him.

Ignis read the situation quickly and fetched the water which Noctis was still hanging on to. He was almost going on auto-pilot now, unscrewing the lid and pressing the bottle against Prompto's lips. Lifting it slowly, he allowed a small amount to drip into his mouth. "He's dehydrated, and we need to get him to drink water one way or another." Prompto initially choked on the liquid before swallowing it on instinct.

Gladio lifted his head a little higher to try and help it go down easier, "Shouldn't we wake him first? He's gonna choke on it."

Ignis responded cooly like always, "It'll be fine. Even if we are not aware of it, our bodies know what to do." He waited a moment to make sure that went down fine before pouring in a little bit more. Holding the bottle up, he was a little concerned that there was only half left now. "We'll need to find that water source soon. Not only Prompto, but we'll need some before long." He then handed the water back to Noctis. "I'll leave you in charge of this, make sure he takes in small amounts frequently and do not worry if he coughs on it, it's bound to occur."

"Alright." Noctis took the offered water and kept his hold on it instead of placing it back in his pocket. He glanced over at the blonde in Gladio's arms, and had to look away. It killed him to see the usually energetic and cheerful gunman in such terrible shape.

"Is this enough reason for us to hurry up and move forward then?" Gladio asked, devoid of all humor. Without a response he got up to his feet without hesitation, causing the man he was holding to groan silently as the movement demanded him to be re-positioned. "Sorry." He mumbled quietly, in a softer tone.

Ignis didn't reply, finding the smarter route was to remain calm and not start something to could potentially escalate. "It has been long enough for us to get some proper rest, going forward would be our best course of action now." He began the back tracking, while Gladio grunted from behind him and followed. Noctis walked next to him, wanting to remain close to his afflicted friend.

After not long of walking, they came across to area where Ignis had first heard the flow of water. He paused, listening once again and tried to get a better idea of where exactly it was coming from. With a few minutes of observation he realized it sounded like it was slightly above them. "Did either of you happen to see any passages leading up?"

"I haven't, why?" Noctis asked.

"The water is on a higher elevation than we are currently on. To find it, we must ascend." Ignis pointed upward to emphasize his point. He then looked down the other path, it was a lot more narrow than the one they took before, but it looked as though they didn't have much of a choice anymore. The only issue is it would be difficult for Gladio to fit through while carrying another person.

Gladio saw this as an issue as well and looked right at Ignis, "I believe it's your turn to carry the princess." Ignis nodded and held his arms out for the switch. Slowly and carefully Gladio handed Prompto over. He moaned with the transition, his head instantly falling against Ignis's shoulder. "I'll go first and wait on the other side for you to get through." And with that Gladio was pushing his way through. Even without the extra baggage, getting through was a bit of a struggle.

Once Gladio gave the signal that he was clear, Ignis stepped up to the opening. Pulling Prompto as close to him as he could, he turned him self sideways and began the grueling trek through the corridor. There was barely room for them to scrape by, and more than once he could feel the jagged surface digging into his back. He was doing what he could to block Prompto with his arms to protect him from any unnecessary pain.

Until he had him that close he didn't realize just how hot he was. He was basically a small heater. He gazed down at the young man's face as he scooted through. His face was no where near a peaceful one, it held an expression of nothing but discomfort. Prompto was stuck between lucidity and unconsciousness. Ignis kept pushing on until he was finally out the other side, where Gladio was waiting with his arms out.

Ignis handed his cargo over to the larger man who instantly help him close. They both waited on their side until Noctis made it through. The first thing he did once he was through was take the water and try to get Prompto to drink a little bit of it. At least this time it went down easier. The only resistance he gave was to feebly try and turn his head away. Noctis wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Gladio nodded to him once he was done and put the water away. Looking around he saw a few ledges that were pretty high up, out of reach anyway even if they jumped. Looking more closely, they seemed like they had other passages that lead in multiple different directions. And, now that they were on this side, he could actually hear the water Ignis had mentioned. He could barely hear it, but it was definitely there.

Walking a little further they were all suddenly overwhelmed with the size of the cavern they were now in. It wasn't by any means that impressive, but compared to the tunnels and corridors they've been traversing in, it was pretty large. "Where now, specs?" Noctis asked, gazing around the area.

Ignis thought about it and looked up to the ledges, still aware that the sound was coming from somewhere above them. "We still need to go up." Turning his attention to the man in Gladio's arms he continued, "I'm not entirely sure how we will accomplish that though."

Noctis stepped in, "I can go up there and take a look around." Before Ignis could protest he went on, "There's no point in hauling him up there if it's pointless. This is the best plan and we all know it." He saw the disapproval on the older man's face. "If anything seems off or dangerous, I'll come right back." Without another word he warped up to a ledge with no problem and looked down to the others. "I'll be back soon."

Ignis and Gladio watched from the bottom as Noctis walked down one of the paths, following the trickling the best he could. Once he was out of sight Ignis turned to their primary issue and checked the blondes temperature again, finding that it hadn't changed much since last time. The only difference was his breathing, which sounded to him like it was a bit too fast. He then felt his pulse, which again, seemed too fast.

"We need to cool him down." Ignis said as he pulled his hand away.

Gladio looked at him skeptically, "What? Are you sure that's a good idea."

"Without his body sweating to cool itself down we have to use other measures to achieve that. Take the jacket off him and lay him down." Ignis scanned around for a flat are and went over to it, waving Gladio over. "Here should do."

Gladio did as he was told and placed him on the chilled rocks, lifting his upper body up a bit so he could slip his jacket off and cast it aside for the time being. Ignis then held out his hand, "I need that water."

The other man froze up, "Dammit." He ground out, feeling guilt run through him for forgetting. He looked straight at Ignis, "Noct still has it. I'm sorry, I didn't think about it."

Ignis hummed to himself. "Alright, he's coming back, we just need to think of something else. The situation isn't dire so he'll be fine for a short while without it." He gazed down at his vest and shirt, "Help me take the rest of his upper attire off. We'll leave the rest on for the sake of his pride."

"Right." Gladio responded, holding Prompto enough for Ingis to get the rest of the clothing off. When he lowered him back down, he let out a few whimpers as he tried to pull away and turn to his side, anything to get away from the coldness. Gladio used one hand to hold him still, "Sorry, buddy, I know you don't like it, but it has to be done." At the sound of a familiar voice, he calmed down a little, but not completely as he was still letting out quiet whines.

After a moment or two he settled down, most likely wearing himself out from the small struggle. Gladio removed his hand and used it instead to run his fingers through the blonde hair, trying to soothe him a little, seeing that he still looked highly distressed. He kept repeating the action, waiting for Noctis to return with some good news, he knew they all needed some of that by now.


	6. Biting Chill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things finally start to look up for the gang, and it seems as though they are finally headed in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, there is still cuteness in this chapter. I just can't not have some. And again, please inform me of any mistakes you come across.

Noctis walked off further and further away from his friends, further away from security, but that's not what flooded his mind at the time. He had a goal, and he'd be damned if he didn't accomplish that goal. His flash light reflected off the shine of the walls, startling him more than once as he walked down yet another path, hearing the sound get closer as he did so. This pushed him forward at a greater speed, fueling his motivation even more.

After almost half an hour of walking, the streaming noise seemed almost right next to him and he paused at a split in the tunnel for a moment to try and locate exactly where it was coming from. He followed his instincts and went to the right, relief flooding through him as he heard the wet splash as he stepped in a stray puddle. Gazing along the floor his eyes were lead to the steadily flowing stream. He walked up to it and slowly dipped a finger in, pulling it back instantly as the coldness bit into his flesh.

As he stood back up he felt a weight in his pocket, then it hit him. The water. He didn't even think about leaving it behind. Without another moment of thought he spun on his heel and begun running back as shame ran in his blood at such a careless mistake. He rounded a corner too quickly in his haste and felt his foot slip from under him. Unable to catch himself from the sudden motion, his head came into rather rough contact with the cave wall.

Stars danced before his eyes for a few seconds, but he quickly drove them away as his mind reminded him of his main priority. He steadied himself and continued to push forward, but slower now. Knocking himself out wouldn't do anyone any good right now.

When he started to hear echoed voices in the distance he knew he was finally close. He wasn't sure if it took him longer to get back, or if his panic induced mind made it appear that way. Coming back to the ledge, he took a second to place his hands on his knees and catch his breath. Once he could breath properly once again he gazed down at the others, a little taken aback at seeing Prompto half-dressed.

He cleared his throat before warping back to the bottom, walking over to rejoin the group, "Uh, what's going on here?" 

Gladio looked up at him, "He was too hot, had to do what we can to cool him down. It's not enough, but it helps a little." Then he remembered and perked up a bit, "The water, you still have it don't you?"

"Oh right." Noctis had momentarily forgotten about that when he came across the scene before him. He handed the water over, placing it in Ignis' waiting hand.

Ignis took the water in almost snatching motion, and it was clear he was slowly losing his cool, but who could blame him; he's been holding it together this long miraculously. Noctis didn't comment on it, knowing the man was only like this from the stress. The first thing he did was lift the blondes head and pour some more into his mouth, giving him time to take it down. With that done, he re-dampened the cloth and proceeded to wipe down his face, cleaning it of sweat.

Gladio turned back to the prince and changed the subject, "Did you find anything up th-" He cut himself off when he saw a small stream of red running down Noctis' face. "You're bleeding. What happened?"

Noctis raised a hand to his face and pulled it away seeing blood on his fingers. He didn't even feel it running down, "I guess it's from when I hit my head up there. It's nothing though. More importantly, I found your water Ignis." He said as he worked on wiping the blood from his face ad head.

"That's comforting news, now the only issue is how exactly we plan on getting up there considering not all of us can warp." The others could hear the frustration seeping through, he was still trying to cover it up, but he was starting to fail at that.

Noctis scrutinized the area around them, scanning for anything else when his eyes fell upon one of the walls. It was rough looking. Walking over and running a hand over it, he felt the ridges in them and was aware that it was climbable. He turned to the others to vocalize his discovery, "We can climb up." He called over while pulling on one the the edges, testing it's strength.

Gladio grunted and pointed a thumb to Prompto, "Yeah, I can see him doing that right now."

Ignis finished up with cleaning off Prompto's face and gazed towards the wall Noctis had mentioned, trying to come up with anything to get them all of them up there. "Hmm." He thought out loud, "There may be a way, it may not be the most practical of methods, but it could do the trick."

"What are you getting it?" Gladio asked, still not leaving his spot.

Ignis looked back, still deciding whether or not they should do. Then coming to the conclusion that any risk they take at this point is better than not doing anything. "Gladio, I do hope your climbing skills are impeccable."

Gladio looked at him questionably, "Was that ever up for debate?" He asked.

"Kneel down." Ignis said as he walked over to pick Prompto up. "Noct, I'm going to need to to grab his clothes for me." Noctis didn't ask anything, even though he had no idea what was going through the man's head. He gathered them up like requested while Ingis was placing the blonde onto Gladio's back. "Gladio, hold him in place while Noct and I secure him." He complied and stayed still while Ignis and Noctis used his jacket along with Ignis' to tie Around them, and hold him in place. They used the bandanna to tie around his hands which were wrapped around Gladios neck.

Once he looked secure enough Ignis gave his next instructions, "Noct, you go ahead to the top and wait up there. I'll wait at the bottom should anything happen." Noctis immediately did as he was told, heading right up and waiting to help the others up when they reached the top.

Gladio began climbing, taking it slowly, not wanting to have any slip-ups, "When this is over, don't either of you speak a word of this to him." They all knew he would have hated hearing how he had to be carried everywhere, but even was carried piggyback like this. The extra weight on his back did make climbing a little more difficult for him, but luckily he wasn't heavy enough to throw him off too much and he reached the top with ease.

Noctis Crouched down to help them up, and began to untie Prompto from his back while Ignis made his way up. By the time Ignis reached the top, the blond was already in Gladio's arms, still in his unresponsive state. "Show us the way." He said waving his hand for Noctis to start walking.

________________________

With a reasonable pace they had managed to arrive at the stream in less time than it took Noctis to find it the first time. It wasn't a large one, but it had enough size to indicate a good sign. Ignis walked up to it, and felt the temperature of it much like the prince had before. "This should work." He mumble more to himself than to the others. Then he turned to Gladio and Prompto, checking on his fever again, finding that it hadn't changed any. "Get him undressed."

"What?" Gladio asked, a little shocked.

"We need to cool him off, and it wouldn't do any good to get his clothes wet." He answered as he started to remove his boots.

Gladio lied him down to help with the process, "What happened to pride?" He asked with a small hint of humor, trying to cut through the tension a tad bit.

"Sometimes you have to set your pride aside for your well-being, and I think that applies here." When they had him stripped down he went and stood ankle deep in the stream, ignoring the stinging the water caused. "Bring him over here and be ready to hold him. He is going to fight back, no doubt about it."

Gladio felt the guilt before he even hauled him over, but he did it, knowing it had to be done. Slowly he lowered him towards the water near Ignis, who was standing nearby ready to jump in if need be. To get it over with Gladio made it quick, placing him down all at once while keeping a hold on his upper arms. 

The reaction was instant. He gasped before crying out and arching his back, trying his best to move away from it, but he as no match for Gladio's hold. Noctis had expected something to happen, but not like this, he hated it, even if he wasn't the one causing it, it still hurt. What he didn't expect was for blue eyes to snap open, and in them he saw fear and panic.

The use of his vocal cords after so long threw him into another episode of coughing, but even so, Gladio kept his hold, waiting for it to subside like before and it did after a few seconds. After about two minutes he calmed down and was left shivering and whimpering, occasional trying to pull away. "No... no no no. P-please stop." He would whine out each time he tried to escape.

"I know, you don't like it, but it has to be done." Ignis said calmly and quietly, using the cloth again to dip in the water and wipe it down his face and wring it out over his forehead. He stopped mid dip when Prompto was looking straight at him. Actually looking at him, not in his direction, but he saw him.

"I-Iggy?" He croaked out, teeth chattering. "W-what's going o-on?" He asked still filled with panic and confusion. "W-why are you d-doing this?"

Ignis shook himself out of his shock and went on with his actions, "Shhh." He shushed as he wrung out more water, "Just relax, it'll be over soon." He seemed a lot less stressed out seeing Prompto partially aware for the first time in a while.

The gunman said nothing else as he stopped fighting back altogether, lucid enough to listen and follow instructions. Luckily for them, and himself, he still wasn't there enough to notice the fact that he had no clothes on anymore.

Gladio could feel the harsh shivers run through his arms and wanted this to be over as much as Prompto did. The way he saw it, he was causing just as much discomfort to the younger man as the water was. Since he stopped fighting back finally, Gladio took that as a sign to ease his hold and instead held his head so it didn't have to lay against the stones in at the bottom.

Feeling him once more, Ignis gave the ok for Gladio to move him out, and without hesitation took his jacket and draped it over him to spare him any more exposure than he had to. The other man showed little indication that he knew what was going on. He was lucid enough to see those around him, and understand things, but he still didn't seem to be 'there'. "Hey, Prom, you in there?" Gladio asked after a few second.

Prompto slowly moved his gave over to Gladio and lethargically nodded as another rough shudder coursed through him. "Y-yeah." He slurred. "Is- is it o-over?" He asked before a couple more coughs broke out. He folded up a little with the action.

"Yeah, we're done." He answered. "But there's something else we need you to do, ok?"

He blinked a couple times, having a hard time staying awake, "Hmm?"

"You need water, badly. We need you to try and drink some. And a sip won't cut it this time. Do you understand?"

He thought on it, looking from Gladio then to Ignis, and last to Noctis. He didn't even remember Noctis was there until he was in his sight. "Y-you're here?" He asked, memories still struggling to surface.

Noctis' face dropped a little with that question, "Yeah, I'm here." He stepped up so he could be closer to him, hoping to provide some comfort to his friend. Since he never answered Gladio's question, the prince asked again, "Prompto, do you think you can drink some water? It would make all of us feel better if you did."

Prompto closed his eyes and opened them back, "I'll t-try." He finally replied. Noctis brought the water back to him, and held it up for him. At least he was still out enough not to argue with this method, and he actually managed to drink a decent amount this time, but quickly pulled away when he had enough. They didn't push it further being satisfied enough with that amount. 

Ignis turned to gather up the clothing items, finally his calm self again now that things were finally looking up for them. "We'll follow upstream." He stated, "It has to be coming from an outside source, so this is our best ticket out of here. Just watch your step, the rocks are rather slippery here."


	7. Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp, their journey finally comes to an end, and emotions are all over the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for this one, but I do have two more stories already planned. C: And like always, please point out any mistakes I made.

Ignis was pleased to see that Prompto had managed to keep his eyes open since he last woke up. He had been quite out of it, but he stayed awake despite that. He had also been willingly taking in the water, he clearly didn't want to or feel like it, but he did it mainly to keep the others from worrying too much. He still shivered from the cold, but he was also still sweating. But, the fact that he was was also a good sign.

Gladio felt the chill slowly drain away from the blonde's body as he began to warm up again. He wrapped the jacket tighter around him as he remembered he still had nothing on underneath that. He glanced over to Noctis who had been carrying them, then to Ignis. "Umm?" He asked getting there attention. When they were looking at him, he looked from Prompto to the clothes, "Shouldn't we, you know?"

Ignis understood what he meant, "Is he dry?"

"Yeah, mostly." He answered looking at his hair. It still appeared damp, but it was hard to say if it was from the water or not. Ignis nodded in agreement and Gladio lied him back down for the time being. Prompto was still staring at the ceiling, not acknowledging anything else. It was somewhat of a blessing for him to not know much of what was happening.

The two of them worked together to get him decent once again, and as Gladio was picking him up, his eyes seemed to focus finally. "Prompto?" He asked, hoping for a cognizant response.

He was silent before speaking, "What is that? It's so bright?" He continued to stare up without blinking or looking away.

Gladio sat confused, as did the other two. "Prompto, what are you talking about?" Ignis asked, suspecting this was just another act of delirium.

Promtpo took in a couple deep breaths, "Lights." He caught the looks the others were giving them, "I'm serious." He gradually raised a shaking hand and pointed towards the top of the tunnel. "Look."

Gladio followed his gaze first, seeing what the other had been talking about. He smiled to himself, "Well, I'll be damned." The other two then looked up next and had about the same reaction. Above them were clusters of shiny, bright blue stones.

"Are those?" Noctis asked, staring at them in unbelievable awe.

Ignis hummed in confirmation, "That they are. The gems we came after." He got to his feet, "I suppose we may as well get them while we're here." He looked over to Noctis, "Would you do the honors?" He asked, gesturing to the stones.

"Yeah, I got this." He replied, calling his bow and took aim. He only shot a few down before gathering them up.

"Is that all you're getting?" Gladio asked, looking at the small amount.

Noctis slipped them into his pocket and replied bitterly, "The way I see it with how this job has gone, this is all he deserves." He turned without another word, ready to get going again. The others read the situation easily and Gladio lifted Prompto back up, noticing that he was starting to go out of it again. He still knew what was going in, but his eyes were fogging over a little as his focus dwindled.

"We'll be out soon, Prom." Gladio promised while he could still understand. 

"Kay." He mumbled, growing tired again. He closed his eyes willingly this time around, falling asleep almost instantly. The look on his face was much more relaxed now, not completely, but much more than it had been. Gladio's Jacket was still draped over him, keeping his bare arms covered.

Seeing that he was at the very least sweating now, Ignis let Noctis know he didn't have to worry about the water now, wanting to let Prompto get some real sleep finally. His breathing was a little labored, but it wasn't anything to be over concerned with.

They rounded another turn, still in pursuit of the river, to see glowing in the distance. To start with, they were rightfully skeptical of the sight, not sure if they believed it or not. After two days of being almost total darkness, seeing natural light so far away seemed too true to be real. Noctis took up the front, walking slightly faster as he was overcome with pure gratitude at the sight. Ignis kept his pace, as did Gladio, though his was more of not wanting to slip while carrying a sick man.

As they grew closer to sunlight, they could feel the sweet warmth flowing in, warming all of them up. They had grown so accustomed to the cold that the heat was almost overwhelming. Ignis was aware of this and removed Gladio's jacket, not wanting him to get too hot again. The blonde didn't react and kept on sleeping semi-soundly, held securely against Gladio.

After what seemed like a lifetime, there they were, standing in the sun once again, feeling the wind blow through their hair as it blew away their dread. Looking up towards the sky, their joy dropped a degree at seeing how low the sun was in the sky now. It was getting late.

"We need to find a haven." Ignis spoke the obvious. "We do need to get back to civilization, but it's not worth the risk of traveling at night." He turned back towards Gladio and the younger man he held. "He'll be fine for another night. With those few signs of improvement, I am certain of it."

Gladio looked down, then back, "Alright."

Ignis scanned the area, "If I was able to keep up properly, we should be able to locate our previous camp before nightfall." He looked a little longer and settled on a direction. The other two trusted his intuition and trailed after him.

The sun was setting quickly as they walked, slowly cooling off as it did; luckily it was nowhere near as cold as in the cave. "Ah, and there is it." Ignis announced, heading towards the faintly glowing markings. It was still a bit away, but they had a chance of making it in time. They broke into a light jog, making sure there would be no question about beating the night. With the light rhythm that came with the speed, came the waking of Prompto. 

He partially opened his eyes, quickly closing them back and groaning as the dimming light was still enough to blind him and warrant the pain in his head to increase. He turned his head and buried it into Gladio's should, trying to hide his face from the intruding rays out of instinct. Gladio heard the sound as well as felt the shift, and wrapped his left arm further around in order to place it on the back of his head and help support it. He coughed lightly and tried to suppress it as it agitated his still sore throat.

They were all worn out by the time they reached it, not just from the jog, but everything was catching up with them now. None of them had gotten any real sleep since entering that place, and the sleep they did get was not at all pleasant. Without being told, Gladio brought Prompto into the tent and placed him under the sheets, receiving zero protests. Once he was sure he was settled in, he went back out to the other two.

Noctis was actually making the fire without anyone asking him to, and while he did that Ignis was already cooking. None of them had eaten it at least two days, and he knew they could all use it. Feeling exhausted himself, he only made a simple soup. Setting his own aside, he spooned some plain broth into the fourth bowl.

Entering the tent, Ignis found Prompto to be asleep and looking much more comfortable than he had in days. He pushed his regret aside and proceeded to wake him up. "Hey." He spoke softly as he gently shook his shoulder, getting him to stir a little. He lifted the gunman's head who in turn opened his eyes and gazed up at him through the haze.

"Hmm?" He started to close his eyes again, still feeling extremely tired.

"No, stay awake." Ignis encouraged, "You need to eat something."

Prompto tried to turn his head away, "Not hungry." He mumbled. 

Ignis tried again. "You don't need to eat a lot, just try a little, ok?" He lifted his head a little more. "This isn't the time to be stubborn. You haven't had anything in almost three days, and I am not leaving you alone until you try."

Prompto let out a quiet whine as he eventually gave in. "Fine."

"Glad you see it my way." Ignis smiled, propping the blonde up enough so he wouldn't choke. He placed the bowl against his lips, and carefully tipped it, allowing a very small amount to get through. Prompto compliantly swallowed that, still lacking the appetite to try any more, but did anyway for Ignis. After about half was gone he refused to drink any more of it, using his hand to try and pushing it away. It was quite obvious the strength he lacked as the push was little more than a brush.

Ignis pulled the bowl away and eased Prompto's head back down. "I believe that's good enough for now. I give you permission to sleep now." He gazed down, amused that his eyes were already drifting closed.

He exited the tent and placed the uneaten broth aside, to retrieve his own bowl and set in his own chair next to the others who had both finished their portions. Once he was finished with his own, they all contributed in cleaning up and joined their sleeping comrade for the night.

________________________________

Prompto woke up to intolerable heat, almost like it was consuming him. He tried to crawl out from under the material that suffocating him just to find that he couldn't move his limbs. He forced his eyes open, but everything was a blur and he couldn't make anything out. He opened his mouth to speak, to ask for help and only got a whimper out. His heart began to beat faster as panic was gripping it. He tried calling out again out of desperation, "No-Noct?" He asked weakly. He got no response and tried another. "Iggy?"

At that he felt movement next to him and the next moment he was floating. No, not floating, he realized someone was holding him. By the size it could only be one other person, "Gladdy?" He asked, voice weak and croaky. He heard a response but had no idea what he said. He was about to ask, but his senses began to waver, going in and out until they ceased altogether.

_________________________________

Ignis heard a small noise, but ignored for the time being, assuming one of the others was mumbling in their sleep, which wasn't uncommon. As he was about to fall back asleep he heard it again, only it sounded an awfully lot like his name. He pushed him self up, still half-asleep and was immediately drawn to Prompto who was sweating profusely and breathing quite heavily. He shoved the sheets off and was hovering over the blonde, completely sobering up. Checking his temperature, he wasted no time in shaking the Gladio awake.

He sat up with a grunt, rubbing his eyes. "Gladio, get up and get Prompto, we have to go now." The panic in his voice was disturbing to say the least, he rarely carried that tone in the years he had known the man. Turning his attention to Prompto he understood his state of urgency. The kid looked horrible.

He gathered him up in his arms and internally cringed at how hot he was. And to add to that, his back was absolutely soaked. "Gladdy?" His eyes shot down and his voice; it was so low and he almost missed it.

"I got you, just hang in there. We're getting you help now, alright?" He heard a small mumble, but couldn't make out any of it. When he checked again he was out. "Dammit, come on." He ground out, moving faster now. He didn't even know if the others were following or not, them being forgotten in his alarm. He glanced behind him, happy to see the others weren't too far behind. For once it seemed Noct had gotten up on the first try.

With his set speed, they reached the Regalia in a short time, and in what felt like a few seconds they were headed down the road. Gladio had Prompto's head in his lap as he used one hand to hold it still so the bumps in the road wouldn't jostle him too much. "How long?" He asked Ignis, he would know what he meant.

"At the speed I'm going now, it should only take about twenty minutes or so." He was already going faster than he normally would. Noctis was sitting silently in the passenger seat, gazing over the landscape in hopes that it would calm his nerves. It didn't, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying.

They rode in silence until the got to their destination where the man was located waiting for his gems. Noctis got out and strode up to the man to make the trade. From where he was sitting, Gladio couldn't hear what was being said, but could tell he wasn't accepting the gems from his body language. "I'll be right back." He said as he gently laid Prompto's head down and got out. He stalked up to the two men, "Is there a problem?" He asked, not hiding his clear anger.

"Yeah, there is." The man said, folding his arms. "What the hell is this? Do you think this is a joke? You bring me three measly rocks, and expect the reward. That's what's wrong." 

Gladio had had enough and something inside him snapped. Grabbing the guy by the collar he forcefully lifted him and shoved him against the wall. "Look, I am not in the mood to deal with your nit picky bullshit. You're going to accept these and give us the reward, or I'll shove them up your ass." He made no move to release the man until he got the answer he demanded. 

The man was visibly shaking by the time Gladio had finished his threat. He was by no means a large or strong man, and knew he would be no match for this giant of a man. "F-fine, just take it." He reached into his pocket and handed over the gil to Noctis. In return Noctis dropped the stones at his feet before heading back to the car.

Gladio glared at him for another second before dropping him. He pocketed the coins and went straight into the shop next door. 

Ignis watched on as he emerged with only one vial, and as he walked by he tossed the rest of the money over to Ignis and got back into the backseat without a word. He pulled Prompto back against him, and grabbed one of his hands, wrapping his fingers around the vial. "I hope this works." He whispered as he helped him squeeze and break the vial. 

His body glowed green for a few seconds before it faded away. For a little while nothing happened. Then he let out a quiet moan as his eyes fluttered before finally opening part way. He gazed around, seeing three sets of eyes staring at him. "What?" His voice was still hoarse, and his throat still burned, but he was lucid.

Noctis smiled at him, "How ya feeling?" 

"I feel like crap." He went to sit up, but his arms gave out and he fell back down against Gladio.

"Hey, take it easy." Gladio said, "You're not fully recovered."

Ignis agreed, "It will take a few days until you are well enough, so until then, relax and accept our help. That means no whining or arguing. Do you understand?"

"Ugh." Prompto pouted for a second. "I guess." He was honestly just tired and felt terrible, and taking it easy for a little while didn't sound half bad anymore.


End file.
